JENSON BUTTON's hopes of clinching a front line formula one drive next season were fading here yesterday after it emerged that US Champcar star Dario Franchitti is being tipped to replace Johnny Herbert in the Jaguar team next season.

BRANDS HATCH took another step towards regaining the British grand prix when Sevenoaks and District council affirmed their support for plans to upgrade the Kent circuit to current FIA safety standards at a meeting on Monday evening.

S we suggested as long ago as January, the American millionaire Tony Johnson is keen to become involved in Grand Prix racing as part of his global expansion of Hidden Creek Investments, the company which controls the automotive component companies Tower Automotive, Dura Automotive and Heavy Duty Holdings.

BRANDS HATCH LEISURE will discover this week whether or not the Sevenoaks Council will agreed to grant it planning permission for a huge rebuilding program needed to bring the circuit up to Formula 1 standards.

The provisional re-scheduling of the 2001 British Grand Prix for May 13, rather than the hoped-for return to a July date, has infuriated Jackie Stewart who is expected to take over from Ken Tyrrell as president of the BRDC at next month's annual general meeting.

The future of Jordan Grand Prix's engine supply was the topic of some discussion in the Montreal paddock with Eddie Jordan admitting that he was in discussion with "a number of manufacturers" about possible engine supplies in the future.

McLaren Formula 1 boss Ron Dennis has finally been rewarded for his services to the motor racing industry with the announcement that he has been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

IT was a slow week for news in Monaco and so there were quite a lot of speculative stories flying around after the event, notably one which was run in AUTOSPORT magazine in London which suggested that Frank Williams and Patrick Head have already decided that Jenson Button will be replaced by Juan-Pablo Montoya at the end of the season.

THERE are rumors in Formula 1 circles that the forthcoming FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Warsaw, Poland, on June 21 could produce some radical proposals for the future organization of Grand Prix racing.

AS we suggested a month ago British American Tobacco subsidiaries have now raised their shareholdings in BritishÊAmericanÊRacing to 80% and while paddock rumor says that this was a deal so that the team could top up its budget, it seems more likely that it is part of the process by which the team splits away from Jacques Villeneuve and his manager CraigÊPollock.

THE BRITISH RACING DRIVERS' CLUB last week voted to establish a company called Silverstone Operations Ltd. with the main aim of winning back the British Grand Prix to Silverstone while at the same time creating a more effective commercial structure which is not directly influenced by the BRDC and thus can operate independently to increase income from the track.

EVER since the announcement that Williams had landed sponsorship from the Allianz Group the F1 community has been going through a turbulent phase as other big financial institutions look at buying into the sport.